Hi,
We are Sally and Amanda from Guinea Pig Education. We present a range of complimentary teaching aids and workbooks to use in your classroom or as homework – in both print and digital format.
We aim to raise reading standards and to develop literacy skills, with our ‘fun for kids’ phonic reading resources.
We also offer support for pupils aged 4-16 years. We highly recommend our comprehension and creative writing resources - which build confidence and develop imagination.
Hi,
We are Sally and Amanda from Guinea Pig Education. We present a range of complimentary teaching aids and workbooks to use in your classroom or as homework – in both print and digital format.
We aim to raise reading standards and to develop literacy skills, with our ‘fun for kids’ phonic reading resources.
We also offer support for pupils aged 4-16 years. We highly recommend our comprehension and creative writing resources - which build confidence and develop imagination.
Between the ages of 9 and 12, children have to complete Standardised.Assessment.Tests (Sats). To help them practise for these tests, we have produced a new series of comprehension booklets. The Standards and Testing Agency states that the child has 1 hour to complete the test, answering the questions in the answer booklet. Read one text and answer the questions about that text, before moving onto the next text. There are three texts and three sets of questions in each booklet.
The tests in this booklet are based on the KS2 Reading Assessment sample papers. It is important to try and complete them in an hour, but it is your choice. The more tests you practise the quicker you will get.
39 pages
Learn To Write Different Genres Of Story
In this pack, the child will learn about different genres or types of story and about the techniques writers use to make their reader want to read on. For example, flash backs or dialogue to move a story on.
The child is asked to read the rescue story and to write their own version. A helpful prompt is included, showing the child how to introduce character, setting and plot in paragraph one, develop plot (actions and complications) in paragraph two and build up suspense in paragraph three, ending the story on a happy, sad or cliff hanger ending.
Next, the child should read the ghost story and write their own version. After this, they should make their own thesaurus, by collecting a number of difficult words and find words that mean the same (synonyms).
This series of work packs provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. Featuring a lively, ‘magazine style’ format to appeal to children of all abilities, these packs are particularly recommended as preparation for creative writing tasks at 11+ or S.A.T.S.
The writer herself often dips into the lively collection of imaginative stories and non fiction articles, to teach her students in tutorials. The packs feature detailed prompts on how to plan and write stories and letters, as well as help with non fiction tasks - writing diaries, reports and persuasive leaflets. There is also plenty of practice in writing techniques - variation of sentences, connectives and grammar and punctuation tips.
30 pages
Learn consonant digraphs ch, sh, th and vowel digraphs oo, ee. Read the sentences and match the words/phrases to the pictures.
Learn To Read With Phonics Reading Packs are a quick and easy way to teach children to read in just six months.
They are ideal for all ages (from 4 years plus), especially reluctant older readers of 7, 8, 9+, children with learning difficulties and children where English is a foreign language.
The packs are designed to be used one to one or in small groups with a teacher and child or parent/guardian and child learning together.
The packs consist of a structured course that build 44 phonic sounds into the text. As the children read the adventures of a loveable boy called Sam, they can have fun searching for hidden sounds. They will build up 44 sounds in total. This will enable them to read 80% of words in the English language, by breaking them down into sounds or syllables - pl ay ing. Children using phonics in this way progress fast.
A series of stories, The Bouncing Castle and The Famous Cousin From The Country reinforce the complex middle sounds being learnt. By the end of the scheme, the child will be ready to progress to ‘solo’ reading books, such as Roald Dahl’s ‘Georges Marvellous Medicine’ and ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’.
Many of the packs have cut out practice pages for matching words to pictures and phrases to pictures, to fix the sound words in the child’s memory. The simple text and fun colour in sketches, appeal to young readers and have helped the authors to teach many, many children to read.
The reading packs may be used in any order, just pick the pack for the sound you require. However, when using the packs for a complete non reader we suggest you start with packs teaching initial sounds (word building with three or four letter words).
Then move on to learning phonic sounds in this order: ch, sh, wh, th, oo, ee, ar, or, ur, ir, er, magic e, ea, oa, ai, ay, oi, oy, oa, short y (as in happy), long y (as in sky), soft c (as in mice), soft g (as in engine), ou, ow, au and aw.
Next, move onto more complex sounds as in, tion, le, el, ough, gue, que, ine, ue, ie, ei, prefixes and suffixes.
How To Use
Each pack introduces a sound.
Learn the sound with the child/children
Read the sentences or stories several times, encouraging the child/children to talk about the pictures.
At the end of the sentences or story, there is a list of words and phrases, which the child can match to the pictures.
Get the child/children to colour in the pictures.
Practise each sound several times, until the child is familiar with it.
A Quick Look At The Basics Of English Spelling & Punctuation
‘Improve Your English As A Foreign Language’ Work Packs save hours of time when preparing lessons for students where English is a second language . The packs are suitable for intermediary speakers of English, who want to improve their written English.
Each work pack uses our humorous comic character ‘the alien Zoggy’ to guide the student. They provide a fun light hearted approach to learning English (suitable for young learners of 8 years plus through to adult).
The work packs help the student:
To learn idioms and colloquial phrases used by fluent English speakers (which often catch the foreign speaker out)
To use the right preposition after the verb
To set out and write formal letters in English
To expand their vocabulary for speaking and writing, by replacing boring words with more interesting words
To improve their skills in English grammar
Each pack includes tuition pages and follow up exercises to practice the skills learnt.
By the time the student has worked through each pack, their command of English will be at a much higher standard.
Keep your kids entertained this Christmas with this fabulous craft pack. You will learn how to create your very own simple nativity scene using lollipop sticks. It’s a wonderful activity for crafty little fingers!
Do you know who is coming to watch Dan’s Christmas school play? It is Zoggy. He is landing his space craft and stepping out into the deep snow. He slides and slithers along the path to Dan’s school. When he arrives it is late - very late and there is not a chair to spare anywhere…
Guinea Pig Education presents the Zoggy the Alien series about a cute little alien who lands on Earth. Will he be accepted? What will he feel as he tries to fit in with life on Earth? This series introduces inclusiveness as Zoggy finds out that he is loved and accepted. He is given help with all those things he meets like fear and anxiousness. Yes, these books are bang up-to-date, full of lessons to be learned and will be loved by children of 3 to 7 years.
An essential series of mini themed booklets for all children who need additional practice in writing. The Creative Writing Tutor scheme provides a lively series of themed booklets that will stimulate your child’s imagination and inspire him or her to write in a more interesting way and to achieve better results. The booklets provide a tutor for the child, fun features and stories to read, follow up activities to complete, harder vocabulary to prepare children for more advanced writing and many helpful tips and techniques to improve writing style. Written by an experienced teacher, they are recommended for use at school or at home by children aged 9-13 years, of all abilities. They are excellent for stretching fast workers and able writers or preparing for writing tasks in 11+ examinations.
26 pages
Learn The Phonic Sounds oi and oy (as in enjoy and spoilt)
Learn To Read With Phonics Reading Packs are a quick and easy way to teach children to read in just six months.
They are ideal for all ages (from 4 years plus), especially reluctant older readers of 7, 8, 9+, children with learning difficulties and children where English is a foreign language.
The packs are designed to be used one to one or in small groups with a teacher and child or parent/guardian and child learning together.
The packs consist of a structured course that build 44 phonic sounds into the text. As the children read the adventures of a loveable boy called Sam, they can have fun searching for hidden sounds. They will build up 44 sounds in total. This will enable them to read 80% of words in the English language, by breaking them down into sounds or syllables - pl ay ing. Children using phonics in this way progress fast.
A series of stories, The Bouncing Castle and The Famous Cousin From The Country reinforce the complex middle sounds being learnt. By the end of the scheme, the child will be ready to progress to ‘solo’ reading books, such as Roald Dahl’s ‘Georges Marvellous Medicine’ and ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’.
Many of the packs have cut out practice pages for matching words to pictures and phrases to pictures, to fix the sound words in the child’s memory. The simple text and fun colour sketches, appeal to young readers and have helped the authors to teach many, many children to read.
The reading packs may be used in any order, just pick the pack for the sound you require. However, when using the packs for a complete non reader we suggest you start with packs teaching initial sounds (word building with three or four letter words).
Then move on to learning phonic sounds in this order: ch, sh, wh, th, oo, ee, ar, or, ur, ir, er, magic e, ea, oa, ai, ay, oi, oy, oa, short y (as in happy), long y (as in sky), soft c (as in mice), soft g (as in engine), ou, ow, au and aw.
Next, move onto more complex sounds as in, tion, le, el, ough, gue, que, ine, ue, ie, ei, prefixes and suffixes.
How To Use
Each pack introduces a sound.
Learn the sound with the child/children
Read the sentences or stories several times, encouraging the child/children to talk about the pictures.
At the end of the sentences or story, there is a list of words and phrases, which the child can match to the pictures.
Practise each sound several times, until the child is familiar with it.
19 pages
Download this free booklet, to find out more about our phonic scheme. Click here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/how-do-i-start-my-child-learning-to-read-with-phonics-12412206
Improve Your English Work Packs teach the child good English. They help improve the child’s punctuation, spelling and grammar skills. There are a wide range of packs to choose from, providing practice in sentence writing, use of connectives and parts of speech. The child will also be introduced to literary techniques - similes, metaphors and other stylistic devices.
The format of each pack is so simple. The pages are quick and easy to work through, so the child will learn fast and remember skills taught easily. Each pack includes a lesson plan, with structured exercises, including answer pages. Improve Your English Work Packs save hours of time when preparing lessons or homework tasks.
Included in this series, there are eight structured assessment tests, to test vocabulary, capital letters, punctuation, spelling and use of English language with answers.
9 pages
Ask the child to read the travel information from The Rushford Gazette’s special holiday feature. They will learn about using good adjectives, verbs, adverbs and rhetorical and other persuasive devices. The child is then asked to write their own travel information on the Norfolk Broads. After this, they are asked to make a holiday brochure for a holiday in Europe. Lots of prompts are given to choose from, as well as lists of suitable words and phrases to use.
Next, George and Christabelle of Guinea Pig Radio ask their listeners what they would do if they could take off and go anywhere in the world. In this pack, the child is asked to write about their dream holiday destination. Then, they are asked to read the listeners texts and emails and to imagine these dreams came true and to write the listeners stories. Lastly, ask the child to use the question prompts to write about a holiday that they have enjoyed.
This series provides prompts to encourage children to write. It provides starting points, to encourage even the most reluctant writers. In fact, the writer regularly dips into these packs for her own tutorial classes. With their lively ‘magazine style’ format, they are an ideal study aid to consolidate work on planning and writing stories and non fiction articles, expanding vocabulary and include many examples of children’s work. As well as this, the packs contain some very useful tips on writing techniques (as in writing simple, compound and complex sentences). The work in these packs will inspire children, who are practicing for exams, to write, and provide starting points for even the most reluctant writer, including those children with special educational needs and where English is a second language.
19 pages
Between the ages of 9 and 12, children have to complete Standardised.Assessment.Tests (Sats). To help them practise for these tests, we have produced a new series of comprehension booklets. The Standards and Testing Agency states that the child has 1 hour to complete the test, answering the questions in the answer booklet. Read one text and answer the questions about that text, before moving onto the next text. There are three texts and three sets of questions in each booklet.
The tests in this booklet are based on the KS2 Reading Assessment sample papers. It is important to try and complete them in an hour, but it is your choice. The more tests you practise the quicker you will get.
43 pages
Browse our website, to view our full range of educational resources.
A fun writing and drawing activity, to keep children busy. To be completed at the level your child is at.
Free for a short time only.
More in this series…
Pom Pom On A Walk
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-pom-pom-goes-on-a-walk-a-fun-writing-activity-6-years-12282555
Learn about the great plague of 1665, through the eyes of the great diary writer Samuel Pepys, and practise your reading comprehension skills.
This work pack includes: a reading comprehension based on extracts from Samuel Pepys diary, pages of interesting facts about the plague, creative writing and drawing activities.
An excellent resource for classes studying this period in history.
This resource will help students practise writing discursive arguments (9-16 years). Includes two questions for kids to consider:
In light of recent media reports, are newspapers and news channels responsible for causing widespread panic about the coronavirus outbreak, Covid-19? (9-16 years)
Should we do everything we can to stop the spread of coronavirus or should we let the virus just run its course?
We prepared this resource, in order to help young people, deal with the sensitive and frightening issues around coronavirus. By discussing these issues, it will help young people to deal with the crisis.
This resource can be used as a starting point for writing your own discursive essay, as well as for class discussions around this topic. A plan and sample essay is provided and a second thorough plan (with many points for and against) is provided, so the young person can write a second essay on the topic.
18 pages
Browse our website, to view our full range of educational resources.
A set of printable worksheets to practice handwriting.
Introducing you to our brand new ‘Zoggy Zero’ scheme. Help your child/ren to take their first steps in reading, writing and spelling, with this exciting structured scheme.
19 pages
This resource includes 63 pages.
Persuasive Writing & Argument Theme Work Packs save preparation time when planning writing tasks for 9-14 year olds. Easy to follow, each pack provides specimen planning sheets and essays in non fiction writing topics. The model essays contain information that will give children starting points to develop their own ideas. Children will learn fundamental skills in non fiction writing.
Persuasive Writing & Argument Theme Work Packs teach children how to write from different points of view and how opinions can be used to make articles biased. Children will learn the basic principles of discursive writing, including how to set out an argument. They will learn different forms of writing - for example, articles, letters, leaflets, brochures and holiday brochures. They will become familiar with using literary or stylistic techniques, such as, repetition, similes, metaphors and groups of three, to make their writing persuasive.
This resource includes 2 packs:
Practise Writing An Interview
Practise Writing A Biography
Information Writing work packs are essential for all students wanting to develop their literacy skills and improve their grades in English assignments and examinations.
Information Writing work packs concentrate specifically on information writing, providing everything needed to stimulate a child to write. The child is taught to recognise the difference between facts and opinions. Each pack in this series concentrates on a different aspect of information writing including: writing to advise, writing to inform, writing to explain, writing to analyse, review and comment, giving examples. The child is taught how a newspaper article is structured, how to write formal and informal letters, diaries, police reports, e-mails, biographies, autobiographies, interviews, book reviews and many more.
The work packs contain starting point for writing, helping the child to form ideas, enabling him or her to structure their work and organise it into paragraphs. Attention is given to making writing more interesting by varying sentence types, using punctuation and good grammar.
Each work pack includes an exciting range of model answers and sample texts written by students and provides practice questions to test them. Common errors made by students are highlighted and corrected. They are packed with vital hints and tips to enable the student to be successful and gain good grades.
The packs are a very useful resource for teachers and save hours of time when preparing lessons or homework tasks. The specimen lesson plans and examples contained within each work pack will give the student ideas to build on and provide practice to develop their writing skills. Each work pack provides children with ideas for writing, especially reluctant writers who require starting points to write. Each work pack provides a safe topic that children will be comfortable with.
13 pages
7 pages
Discursive Essay Writing For GCSE Creative Writing (GCSE 2017 English Writing Work Pack)
This resource provides prompts to help the student with writing discursive essays for their GCSE exam. The purpose of their writing is to argue from different perspectives or viewpoints and to present a balanced argument. Subjects include:
What makes young people follow fashion?
Should I try one of Jake’s cigarettes?
These work packs provide essential creative writing practice for the new 2017/2018 GCSE English exam. They will help GCSE students prepare for their exam, whether they are students in years 9, 10 or 11. The packs provide practise in different forms of writing, for example, articles, blogs and letters.
These resources help students to write in a tone appropriate to purpose and audience. They instruct the student how to write from different perspectives or viewpoints and present a balanced argument. As well as, using appropriate tone and language. For example, learning to use: formal or informal register, language devices like rhetoric and groups of three and punctuation, such as variation of sentences for effect.
Fright Night: Write An Article (And More) (Essential Writing Practice With A Spooky Halloween Theme) (9-13 years)
This resource includes five activities:
Read the article ‘Fright Night’ and then write your own spine chilling version to persuade people to visit. Next, write a recount of your visit, using the writing skeleton to help you.
Read the poem ‘Is White Rat Not Convinced?’ Look for rhyming couplets. Have a go at writing your own poem.
Plan your own fancy dress party, using the writing prompts to help you
Write some judges comments for rock band ‘The Graveyard Diggers’ performance on the Z Factor.
Read the newspaper article and then use the template to write your own report, adding some fearsome facts and odious opinions.
An essential series of themed prompts to help children aged 9-12 years to practise their creative writing skills for 11 plus entry exams or S.A.T.S. The packs include an outline to help the child plan his or her own story, article, letter or play script and examples to build on, using harder more challenging vocabulary to stretch more able pupils.